Looking to buy in south Essex, opinions please

Georgie579

Hi all,
I am a first time buyer looking to buy a 1/2 bed flat in south Essex.
Currently live in London but cannot afford to buy here. I work in London so still need to be able to commute.
I have seen nice flats in my price range (180k) around Purfleet, Stanford-le-hope, South Ockendon and surrounding areas and also slightly further out Harlow.
Seen a few bad comments on older forums about these areas so looking for honest opionions on what these areas are like for people familiar with the area.
I am aware Colchester and Chelmsford are nice areas but they are slightly too far out for me.
Thanks in advance for any comments

AndyBSG

I'd say all three of those areas have places that aren't exactly 'great' but that's all completely relative to where you live at the moment and there are some nice areas in all three of those places, you'll just need to hunt around a bit.

For 180K you could also find properties in some better areas.

For instance, if you did want to stay on the 'Tilbury loop' of the Fenchurch street line you may be able to stretch to a property in Chafford Hundred.

Alternatively there are some areas in Basildon and parts of Laindon that aren't too bad.

Further along the line you have places like Westcliff and Chalkwell which have an abundance of flats for sale and if you took a real gamble you could buy a flat for much less than 180K somewhere like Canvey Island which is a reasonable place to live but has traffic issues.

Other options are on the Greater Anglia line where you could pick up a 1 bed, maybe even a 2 bed flat, for 180K in Chelmsford.

Would probably be helpful if you could actually list the most important things to you in buying? i.e. is it important you get somewhere that prices are rising for when you sell in future? Are road travel links as important as train links? Are some areas more desirable due to friends and family location? Do you want somewhere near the sea or countryside? Is local nightlife/shopping more important?

hazyjo

Don't forget too that some of those places mean you'll be on slow trains. A quick look at Stanford-le-hope shows trains at 48+ mins, mainly over 50 mins though. I'd rather live in Chalkwell if travelling for that long.

Dawn248

I'd go for Chalkwell/Leigh or Benfleet on the C2C line if I were you. Grays and Tilbury are not as nice and trains are slow, as previous poster said. If you want to go on the Liverpool Street line you can get decent flats in Wickford but they're doing engineering work there at the moment so I'd check when that finishes!

SG27

Id go for Chelmsford or even surrounding villages like Boreham/Broomfield/little Waltham...etc you could cycle into town in about 10/15 minutes. Or Hatfield Peveral 1 step out from Chelmsford has its own station. Lovely countryside around there too. South Essex just seems to built up and industrial for me.

phill99

Well I live in Grays. Moved here 27 years ago. There are many good things about the locality. Its only 38 mins into Fenchurch Street and trains are efficient and plentiful (C2C have a very good punctuality record). Access to the M25, Dartford Bridge, M11, M2 M23 etc are brilliant. There is a choice of 5 international airports within an hours drive. Lakeside Shopping Centre is on your doorstep which is also about to undergo major refurbishment. Bluewater is 20mins away. There were a lot of brownfield sites in the area which have been redeveloped and the area has undergone major environmental improvement as a result. There are a lot of local job opportunities with the new DP World Port and a new (huge) Amazon Depot at Tilbury.


In terms of housing options, you will get a lot for your money, The area has a lot of ex council housing which is always well built and larger than many private built homes.


However, because of the relative low cost of accommodation and plentiful (but often low paid/low skilled) jobs, there is a very big Eastern European population and Grays, particularly is becoming very 'Ghettoised' which many people may feel uncomfortable with. Of late the increase in violent crime is quite marked. We have had murders, machete attacks, extremely violent aggravated burglaries, with the perpetrators coming from East London and trying to flex their muscles (Gang and drug related). South Ockendon and Tilbury are the two main areas that are suffering in this way and I suggest you avoid.


If you wish to PM me I am happy to give you my number and you are welcome to call me to chat.


Hope that helps.

phill99

SG27 wrote: »

Id go for Chelmsford or even surrounding villages like Boreham/Broomfield/little Waltham...etc you could cycle into town in about 10/15 minutes. Or Hatfield Peveral 1 step out from Chelmsford has its own station. Lovely countryside around there too. South Essex just seems to built up and industrial for me.

But I don't think you get the VFM in those areas plus your commute costs into London are higher.

hazyjo

C2C line is much cheaper than the others nearby. OP may know that already.


Looked at Chalkwell/Leigh and there's only really one just over budget (south of London Road). Even further out, the nicer areas might just be over budget.

Loft_Boy

If you have about £180k I would suggest Westcliff /Chalkwell.


Good links into London , sea front good parks and next door to Leigh which has some nice bars etc. Leigh has become expensive so the ripple effect is starting to happen and Westcliff is certainly becoming more desirable.


There are still some areas that aren't great but £180,000 should get you a decent flat in a decent area.

Georgie579

Thanks for the replies everyone. Much appreciated.

My family, friends and work are mostly in London so I would ideally like to be as close to London as possible. Socialising will be done mainly in London still so am not particularly fussed about finding an area with a lot of nightlife, restaurants, shops etc. I would say most important factors to me are to find an area I feel safe in wth good transport links / road access into London.

I have been avoiding Chafford Hundred in my search as I hear the traffic is always heavy (however I might take a drive through there to see just how bad). Also been avoiding Basildon as I haven't heard great things but I do realise that there are good and bad places in all areas, just need to research properly.
Did also look at Benfleet and Wickford but those areas seem to be mainly out of my price range and not great VFM.

Chalkwell and Westcliff seem to be what most people here are suggesting so I will look into those areas a bit more.

Anyone on here living in South Essex and commuting to London?

SG27

phill99 wrote: »

But I don't think you get the VFM in those areas plus your commute costs into London are higher.

Yes true, the trains are extortionate.